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Message: <blockquote data-quote="A CHAPLIN" data-source="post: 1382186" data-attributes="member: 5088">Buzzards and Goshawks are again open to persecution in Lower Austria! The provincial government of Lower Austria has recently issued a decree allowing hunters to shoot 200 Common Buzzards and 50 Goshawks until January 31st. Since there is no adequate control, this is likely to result in the erroneous shooting of endangered raptors like Saker Falcon, Peregrine Falcon, Hen Harrier, Marsh Harrier, Sparrowhawk, Rough-legged Buzzard and Red Kite, all of which occur in substantial numbers in Lower Austria. There may be even casualties among White-tailed and Eastern Imperial Eagles. Please support the WWF petition against this senseless killing. The background to the petition is here <a href="http://www.wwf.at/de/menu260/artikel1005/" target="_blank">http://www.wwf.at/de/menu260/artikel1005/</a> with a link to the protest letter here <a href="http://www.wwf.at/de/menu46/petitionen4/" target="_blank">http://www.wwf.at/de/menu46/petitionen4/</a> Please click on the button "Petition unterschreiben" (sign the petition) and fill in the field with stars in the next window (Anrede = form of address (drop down box)/ Vorname = first name(s)/ Nachname = surname/Strasse= street/Hausnummer = house number/PLZ = postcode/Ort = town or city/Email Adresse = mail address) - then click once more on "Petition unterschreiben" (sign the petition) below. For your information the text of the letter to the regional Austrian Chief Executive in English reads: "Stop the shooting of protected birds of prey in Lower Austria! Dear Chief Executive, Shortly before Christmas you issued a bird of prey regulation which permits the shooting of 1,000 Common Buzzards and 250 Goshawks in Lower Austria over the next 5 years. Both species are protected under the EU Bird Protection Guidelines. Your regulations remove this protection in part and enable massive interference in the populations of these species in Lower Austria. You describe this persecution as `sensible use' - this is an absurdity whose like would be hard to find in the whole of Europe!The grounds given for this partial decontrol on shooting of Common Buzzards and Goshawks is the conservation of 26 protected animal species which are allegedly part of the prey spectrum of these raptors. For 16 of these species there is not a shred of evidence to show that they are preyed on by the Common Buzzard and Goshawk. The amended bird of prey regulations is rather an opening of the door for illegal raptor persecution as it provides an excuse for each and every `error' by hunters. Even worse, it will certainly lead to unintentional misidentification of highly endangered species such as Saker, Peregrine Falcon, Hen and Marsh Harrier, Red Kite, Short-eared Owl, Sparrowhawk and Rough-legged Buzzard as these species are visitors to the region during the hunting season in Lower Austria.We, the undersigned, believe that this relaxation of protection completely undermines the efforts to comprehensively conserve and protect nature in Lower Austria. It is also in contravention of EU legislation. Dear Chief Executive, do not allow yourself to be a bear-leader for the hunting lobby in that you permit them to eradicate their old enemy and competitors - such as the Buzzard and Goshawk -under the guise of nature protection. We demand that you stand by your legal and moral obligations for nature protection and conservation and rescind the new regulations immediately" Thank you for your support. David--David Conlin</blockquote>

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